`RIDICULE' NAMED BEST IN CHICAGO FILM FEST

Michael WilmingtonCHICAGO TRIBUNE

The Gold Hugo for Best Film, highest award of the 1996 Chicago Film Festival, was given over the weekend to Patrice Leconte's "Ridicule," from France, a gorgeously stylized portrait of Louis XVI's corrupt court, which was also opening night film at the last Cannes Film Festival.

The festival's jury, chaired by Marina Saura of Spain, gave the Special Jury Prize to a U.S. film, writer-director-star Billy Bob Thornton's stark psychological tale "Sling Blade." Two runner-up Silver Hugos went to the Canadian "Fire," directed by Deepa Mehta, and the Swiss "Broken Silence," directed by Wolfgang Panzer.

"Fire" and "Broken Silence" picked up additional prizes for acting: "Fire" for lead actress Shabana Azmi and "Broken Silence" for supporting actor Michael Moriarity. The Best Actor Prize went to Britain's Christopher Eccleston for his portrayal of 19th Century novelist Thomas Hardy's doomed hero in director Michael Winterbottom's "Jude" and another ensemble acting prize went to the entire Shakespearean cast of Trevor Nunn's British entry "12th Night."

The jury also awarded a Gold Plaque for Best First Feature Film to Mimmo Calopresti's "The Second Time" from Italy and a Silver Plaque for Best Screenplay to Mario Camus' "Adosados" from Spain.